Riddler's Revenge Act I
by Jade-Dusk
Summary: The Story of How Edward Nigma became the Riddler, and the death traps, and revenge he has plotted out for his victims. This is a story I've made based on researching the many different takes on the Riddler, and thus combining them into one. Please read and review (because I love reviews :D), and constructive criticism only please.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

_Thank God it's Friday._ Edward mused as he walked into the Wayne-Tech Lab at eight in the morning, a crossword puzzle in one hand and his engraved black pen in the other. He finished two questions in the time it took to pass through a doorway.

The lab itself was well established, the wood grain meshed very well with the white walls and flooring. Harsh black seemed to be the accent colour for most of the main rooms such as the lobby and lunch room. Edward walked briskly solving more answers on his crossword, finding himself close to the end of his work.

He passed through the rows of scientists before heading down a more narrow hallway. The pigments of his red hair illuminated under the fluorescent lights, standing out against his white lab coat. A few other scientists walked past him, none even dared shoot him a friendly look knowing how high he was on himself.

Edward smiled to himself; today was the day they'd be working out the final plans for the brain enhancing software. Edward wasn't overly surprised his idea was such a big hit, but he certainly didn't expect it to take off so well. He just needed to turn in the last few riddles to the software and then it was complete. He took his time, but he knew full well his team was waiting for his arrival.

Turning another corner he passed Pamela Isley but continued on by; that woman seemed to hate anything that wasn't filled with chlorophyll. In her hands was a lab-created plant in a large pot; if someone tried to touch it she'd surely bite their hand. Eddie continued walking, ignoring the mad woman.

With his usual confident stride he swiped his key card to one of the secluded offices that was his current project center. Most of the team hadn't shown up yet aside from the two women who were always punctual. The blonde woman with the icy eyes and model-like looks glanced up at him, "Did you bring the disc Mr. Nigma?"

Edward smirked a little holding up the black floppy disc he'd written most of the program on. "Why yes, Miss Lafferty, I did. Now the project will run its course. Perhaps you'd like to hear some of the riddles I've come up with." He glanced at her beautiful form.

The blonde beauty Kate Lafferty looked up at him with minor disgust. "No thank you, Mr. Nigma. I've never liked riddles."

"I suppose they're not for everyone, riddles..." Edward brushed off her rudeness casually; she must have been jealous of his ability to finish most of the project all by himself without her help. It wasn't easy working with a genius. He set his completed crossword puzzle on his desk.

"I wouldn't mind hearing what you've got." A small voice said from the far end of the lab room.

Edward fixated his gaze on the other girl in the room; her black hair was tossed into a messy bun and her bangs hung almost in her moss-coloured eyes, save for her black wire frame glasses. She wasn't overly talkative, but she had a tendency to keep optimism in her work. Edward approached carefully. "Alright Miss Davenport... With pointed fangs it sits in wait, with piercing force it doles out fate, over bloodless victims proclaiming its might, eternally joining in a single bite. What is it?" he asked, excited to tell her the answer, knowing many wouldn't get it.

Miss Eliza Davenport took a moment jotting down a few ideas on her notepad. Edward took a moment to observe as she crossed out a few less logical answers before looking up at him. "It's a stapler." She said simply.

Edward looked at her. "You've heard that one before?" was the only logical answer in his mind.

The raven-haired girl shook her head. "No, I just like riddles."

Before Edward could say another word he heard the lab door make a keypad sound before it opened allowing inside the two other men, Bennet and Wintor who had been discussing something with Dr. Sparrow. They seemed to be laughing about something until their eyes fell upon Edward, their expressions changing to one of cruel intent only masked by a small smile. "Hello, Mr. Nigma, how are you?" William Bennet asked curiously.

Edward looked at him for a moment. "Fantastic, the software is complete," He handed his disc to Dr. Sparrow. "You'll notice that it's flawless."

Dr. Sparrow took the disc and pocketed it. "Thank you, Edward. Now first and foremost, I wanted to have a chat with all of you." Dr. Sparrow watched as everyone took a seat at their own desks. "As you may have heard, this company is losing money, and a few cutbacks are being made around here."

Everyone stared knowing this could affect their research. "We will just have to make due with what supplies we have." Kate Lafferty said rather coldly.

"Correct, and we will. I have come up with a harsh, but economical solution to this problem, and how we can still get our work accomplished without cutbacks affecting us too much." Dr. Sparrow looked around the room at them all.

Everyone stared curious about the proposal. "What is it?" Mr. Bennet asked curiously.

"One of you will be removed from this team as well as from the company." Everyone looked at one another horrified, but Edward sat back curious to see which one of his co-workers was going to get the boot; it wouldn't be him, he did all the planning so clearly he was safe.

"Well that is sad Dr. Sparrow, but if it helps the project run smoother, then I guess we'll have to do it." Edward said without a hint of sympathy in his voice.

Dr. Sparrow twisted his mouth into the slightest smile, "Well I'm glad to see you're taking this so well Mr. Nigma. I decided to choose you as the person I'm cutting from the project."

Edward felt the burn of embarrassment in his cheeks. "Excuse me Dr. Sparrow? I think I just heard you wrong. I thought you just said you wanted to cut 'me' from this project... you must be mistaken."

Dr. Sparrow's black hair glistened as he leaned down to pull out a document from his chocolate-coloured briefcase. "It says here that you're on a contract with us that can be terminated when the use with you has come to pass. The others in this room have no such contract, but you with your level of creativity were suggested as a paid-to-hire employee. I'm sorry Mr. Nigma, but we'll have to let you go."

"Dr. Sparrow, I worked on this project for hours and hours per night, it was 'my' genius that went into both the creation process and the production of it. You can't just let someone as valuable as me walk. This whole project is mine!" He looked at his boss fearfully.

"A contract is a contract, Mr. Nigma." Dr. Sparrow looked at him.

Edward stood up outraged, his shoulders raised with anger, "You need me, Dr. Sparrow. This project won't get anywhere without me."

Dr. Sparrow looked at him calmly, "I believe we have enough work done that we can get by on our own now, Edward." He raised the disc that Edward had worked so hard on during the past week tantalizingly.

Edward turned to look at the rest of his team mates. "I want a vote, who agrees with Dr. Sparrow that I should be the one leaving?"

To his shock and rage, everyone in the group with the exception of the dark haired girl in the corner raised their hand. "Better you than us Eddie." Mr. Wintor stated calmly.

Edward turned back to Dr. Sparrow, a darkness playing in his eyes. "You'll regret this... all of you will..." His voice was cold.

"Edward, you'll be just fine. You'll just be transferred back to the regular sector of lab workers." Dr. Sparrow assured him.

"You don't understand..." He glared grabbing his things from his desk.

Everyone watched as Edward stormed from the room, pleased they weren't the ones being chosen for exile. Once he made it into the main hall he got an idea. In a low voice he grinned manically. "I'll make you understand."


	2. 1

I likely should have done this on the first chapter but I was so excited to post I forgot... I wanted to thank everyone for reading this story, and I would like to thank my wonderful Beta reader for all the time she put into my story. I hope everyone likes this story, I've got a lot more completed chapters to post yet! :D Reviews are very inspiring so please take the time to post some even if its something short I appreciate them :)

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**Chapter 1**

The Riddler had struck again. That seemed to be the news everywhere in the streets of GothamCity. People were getting comfortable just after the Joker was finished his reign of terror, but now a new foe was making himself known to Gotham.

It started off just a few bank heists and random items being stolen that didn't quite add up. Detectives deduced this 'Riddler' was building something, but no one was quite sure. It was suspected he was mad, possibly just as insane as the Joker.

Crime scenes seemed to be full of odd clues and very strange riddles. He was dubbed the 'Riddler' by Vicki Vale, the leading Gotham news reporter. The name quickly caught on around the city, and everyone attempted to solve the riddles that were being left around town, but to no avail.

The cops found it impossible to decipher what they could possibly mean, and decided this man wasn't a serious threat, just a trickster. Gotham civilians were simply advised to be careful when traveling around at night. It was typically standard procedure regardless for civilians of Gotham.

Batman had been called to the case just after a double robbery had occurred first at the bank, and then at the hardware store in town. It was puzzling why anyone would steal tools and steel, but it was starting to add up to the detective. More recently however, batman was called to a case of multiple kidnappings.

The trickster didn't seem to turn into a serious threat until four individuals went missing in the same night: William Bennet, Kate Lafferty, Kevin Wintor, and Eliza Davenport had all gone missing just before midnight.

Commissioner Gordon stood in the apartment of Kevin Wintor, the third out of four people that evening who had gone missing. His apartment was well kept, but his coffee table seemed to be cluttered with books and a variety of pens. Batman looked around the room looking for clues the police department no doubt would miss.

"Do you think there will be more victims?" Gordon asked already knowing the answer himself.

Batman didn't look up. "I wouldn't doubt it. The person in question seems to be on a rampage."

"We haven't made any connections to the victims yet, but we're-" Before Gordon could continue Batman piped up.

"I have." He said simply.

"...You have? What do you mean?" Gordon was surprised to hear it.

"All the people who went missing worked at the Wayne-Tec Lab together on the same project a few years ago. Only one person who was on the project hasn't been kidnapped. I've put Dr. Nathan Sparrows in police custody, so nothing should happen to him, but if my suspicions are correct, he might know something about the Riddler if he's not the Riddler himself." Batman explained as Commissioner Gordon turned to examine Wintor's desk.

"Good work Batman, but I have just one question," The commissioner turned to the window to see he was alone, and once again, the bat had given him the slip. "...how do we save the others?" He finished with a small smile knowing if there was a will there was a way, and Batman was on the case.

Climbing into the broken window of William Bennet's apartment, Batman took a look around. Pressing on his earpiece he began to speak, "Alfred, has there been any more kidnappings in the area?"

"None that I've come across sir." The older man stated calmly. "Where are you now?"

"I'm in William Bennet's apartment looking for clues." He explained looking around the apartment of the man who was in his early thirties. "Alfred, could you run a fingerprint scan on the glass found in Kate Laffery's apartment?"

"I've done that already sir, and thus far we haven't had any match." Alfred explained.

"It was worth a try anyway. Thanks Alfred." He looked around noting nothing out of the ordinary in the apartment. There were signs of struggle, and a large gash on the wall closest to the front door. Upon inspecting it further, it looked as if a pipe or something of similar nature had caused the gash. He took a picture to upload it to the bat cave computer later.

Nothing else around the apartment seemed to be amiss, so he headed back out the broken window to inspect the final victim's apartment: Eliza Davenport. Her front door had been kicked in, and the neighbours had confirmed two masked men wearing question marks on their backs had been the culprits. This indicated the Riddler wasn't working alone. The neighbours had been pepper sprayed, but by the time anyone could notify the authorities Miss Davenport had been taken.

Looking around her coffee table he noticed a small grey notebook. Opening it he noticed she had jotted notes down in it. He decided to take it with him just in case it was of importance. Nothing else seemed out of place, so he moved on heading straight for the police station.

Dr. Nathan Sparrows sat in police custody after being questioned about the loss of his entire staff. "I don't know who could have done this, I hadn't had any warning signs either." He explained, exasperated.

Officer Bullock continued to press on. Commissioner Gordon stared through the two way mirror listening in on the interrogation. He felt a cool breeze behind him, but he didn't turn. "Batman." He greeted.

"Has he talked yet?" Batman asked curiously from behind him.

"Nope, nothing yet, he doesn't seem to have any answers at all." Gordon looked back at the dark knight. "Seems suspicious to me, but we'll see how this all plays out."

Batman watched as the interrogation progressed. "Dr. Sparrows, do you know of anyone who might want to seek revenge on you?"

Dr. Sparrows held his fingers locked together close to his mouth as he thought. his short black hair was well kept, and his goatee was well groomed, but despite all of it, he seemed like a slippery sort of man. His white labcoat seemed to glow under the ceiling light in the otherwise dark room. "There's no one I can think of that I've ever angered..." He stated calmly.

"No disgruntled employees or angry tax collectors?" Bullock asked, sounding more frustrated as time went on.

"I've told you, no!" Dr. Sparrows was at the end of his wits.

Officer Bullock held a photo of each member of his neurologist group up for him to see. "These people are in danger, and we need to know of anything you can tell us, and so far, you haven't told us squat! Now if you don't start talkin' we're gonna start making assumptions. If we assume you're the Riddler, well you'll have a lot on your plate Dr. Sparrows."

The doctor looked up at Bullock nervously before closing his eyes with a sigh, "Alright... there is one person... ONE person that I can think of that might be angry with me... but that was years ago..."

"Hey, I didn't ask for timeframe, I want to know anything that can help us out." Officer Bullock calmed down a little.

"His name was Nigma... Edward Nigma." Dr. Sparrows looked down at his hands, "He was a cocky little worm, no way was he capable of harming someone."

"What happened with this Edward Nigma. How'd you piss him off?" Officer Bullock put his hands on his hips waiting for some sort of an explaination.

"He was a hire-on staff member. He had all around useful skills at Wayne-Tech, but there wasn't enough room to keep him as fulltime staff. I introduced him to my team about three years ago, and he helped plan for the project my team and I are still currently working on." Dr. Sparrows explained without making eye contact. "He came up with most of the paperwork and questions along with their solutions."

"I notice he's not on the team now, Dr. Sparrows, why is that?" Officer Bullock needed to make the connection and fast.

Their was a long pause before the scientist continued his story. "He's not with us because we had to make cutbacks."

"Cutbacks?" The officer was sceptical.

"The entire lab had to make cutbacks, and since he wasn't promised full time hours, he was the easiest to get rid of... plus no one could stand his cocky attitude." Dr. Sparrows concluded.

Officer Bullock leaned over the table about a foot away from Dr. Sparrows' face. "So what you're telling me is, you just fired this guy after he put in good hard time on a project, and then you go ahead and steal his research? Jesus Christ, no wonder this chucklehead is taking your team. He's pissed! I would be too!"

Dr. Sparrows sighed closing his eyes. "Does this mean he's going to come after me too?"

"I don't have a doubt in my mind you're next on his list." Officer Bullock walked around the table.

"Wonderful..." He covered his face mortified.

Commissioner Gordon watched as the interrogation seemed to heat up. "What was the project concerning? The one you stole Nigma's research on that is."

"We were conducting research on opening the mind for better grasping of knowledge through a series of-" Sparrow paused for a moment.

"Yes?" Officer Bullock leaned in, looking him dead in the eye.

"...riddles." Dr. Sparrows felt everything click.

"Riddles... sounds to me like we've identified our Riddler." Officer Bullock stated.

"Oh God..." Dr. Sparrows covered his face. "He's a maniac..."

Officer Bullock looked at the glass where Commissioner Gordon was listening in. "Now we have a lead," He turned back to Batman as they headed out of the room. "I'm going to radio in my team to take a look for Mr. Edward Nigma and see if we can find his location."

"I have some clues I'm going to do a check on. I'll be back if I find anything." Batman stated before heading out the main doors of the building and straight for his car.

He drove quickly along the streets. He had barely made it a five kilometers from the police station when Alfred called him. Pressing on his earpiece he spoke, "Alfred?"

"Sir, they've found one of the victims." Alfred got right to the point.

"Just the one? Where?" Batman asked.

"The victim is currently being held at GothamMemorialHospital. No release on any information concerning the identity. If you hurry, perhaps you can talk to them first." Alfred informed him.

"Thanks Alfred." He hung up and began speeding towards the hospital.


	3. 2

**Chapter 2**

"Hey, wake up!" A distressed male voice shouted across the room. The other three stirred, their left ankles shackled to one of the four walls of the room.

"Will? What's going on?" Kate asked confused as she began to wake up, realizing she too was connected to the concrete wall via a large thick chain on her very slender left leg.

"Where are we?" Eliza asked looking around with her large green eyes, still quite a bit groggy from being previously knocked out with a heavy dose of chloraform in a towel.

Kevin felt the back of his head, tousling his chestnut brown hair a bit. "Last thing I remember is some guy in my apartment attacking me, then the guy knocked me out..." Kevin stated looking around.

Kate seemed to remember the events leading up to being knocked out, how someone was in her house, and put a cloth over her mouth. "Oh my God!" Kate struggled to get the shackle off her leg. "What the hell is this?! Is the Joker back in town?!" She screamed, terrified, her blonde hair in tangles.

"No way... the Joker's been put away already. This is... someone new..." Kevin stated looking around the grey walls of the nearly condemned looking room. The last thing they needed was to be panicking in a situation like this.

The metal grating across the window shut out all the outside light, leaving a single bulb hanging from the ceiling as their light source. The room was bare, save for a mirror on the wall behind Will. The concrete walls were dirty, and chilling just to look at. Eliza looked around, shaking a bit at the ominous look of the room. "I don't like this..." She felt as though she would meet her end right there in her spot.

"Clearly... the question is how do we get out of here?" William asked looking around at the grim scene.

Silence filled the air for a few seconds. Before anyone could make a good response they were all startled with a slight screeching sound coming from above the door.

"Welcome everyone!" A jubilant voice rang out from the speaker just above the door. Everyone looked up noticing a camera was also sitting above it. They were clearly being recorded, but for what, and by whom?

"Did you all have a nice nap?" The voice belittled them.

Everyone stared at the camera for a second completely shocked. "That voice..." Eliza said quietly.

"What the fuck is this shit man?!" Kevin shouted mortified.

"Now, now, there's no need for that language Mr. Wintor. I haven't even threatened your life...yet." The voice stated ominously.

"Who are you?!" Kate yelled out.

"Me? Why I am the Riddler, Miss Lafferty. I'm sure you've heard all about me in the papers... assuming all those chemicals you use to bleach your hair haven't dried up too many brain cells." The man had it out for them, but they still didn't know why.

"How do you know our names?!" William asked angrily.

"Oh Mr. Bennet... you should really know by now, that I know everything." The voice said in a cocky tone.

Something seemed to click, but once again, in their panic they couldn't quite place it. "I recognize that voice... where do I know it?" Kate stared up at the speaker with venom in her voice.

"Me too..." Eliza said softly, trying to place it.

Whoever it was seemed eager to get off the subject of himself. "Enough about me... I'm sure you're all wondering why you're here, aren't you?" He asked in his sickeningly happy tone.

"Just tell us already!" Kevin said angrily.

"My goal is to prove a point... I'm willing to let each and every one of you go, assuming you are smart enough to make it out alive. May the smartest survive, although I'm fully aware that none of you will exceed my expectations. Still though, best of luck!"

"What do we have to do?" William asked.

"Simple. Solve my riddles, and you'll walk on out of here without a scratch." The Riddler explained. "Over and out!" With that the speaker seemed to turn off.

"That's it. We're done for..." Kate stated mortified.

"Stop that, we need to stick together." Will stated looking over at her through his light blonde bangs.

"He said something about a riddle, what is our riddle?" Kevin asked.

They all looked to the floor at the center of the room. Spray painted on the ground in acid green paint was a riddle facing Kevin. "Hit me hard and I will crack, but you'll never stop me staring back. What am I?" He looked to them.

Each of them looked at one another. Four scientists in the room, they HAD to know the answer. "Between the four of us we should know the answer to this." Kevin looked at them.

Eliza closed her eyes and thought it through. Kate looked around. "I'm not sure how we're even supposed to answer this question..."

Eliza's eyes shot open and she looked up at the mirror on the wall. "It's a mirror. Will, there's a mirror behind you."

William stood up and looked at the mirror for a moment before noting the sides of the mirror were bolted to the wall. "I need to break it I think, but I don't want to bloody my hand."

Kate pulled off her black cardigan, revealing a white silk camisole underneath. Handing the black sweater to William he smiled gently at her as he wrapped it around his fist, "Thanks." He took a swing at the mirror cracking it into several small pieces.

Everyone looked at the mirror's remains only to notice a small hole. "There's a key in here." Will informed them all.

"It must be the key to the shackles." Kevin suggested.

William pushed the key into the small hole of his shackle, and watched as he was unlocked. He felt some relief as it fell from his leg. "Pass it over here, Will." Kevin held out his hand.

Will tossed it over watching as Kevin unlocked himself, then Eliza, then Kate. "Alright. I guess next we have to find a way out of this hellhole." Kate crossed her arms. Will placed the shirt back over her shoulders once all the mirror pieces were shaken from it.

"Thanks." She smiled at him softly.

"Very good team, but that was just test number one. I hope you're ready for the rest." The Riddler's voice rang out over the speaker once more.

"Eat shit you bastard!" Kevin shouted angrily.

"Now, now, you'll want to be nice to me. I am your captor after all..." With that the speaker cut out again.

Kevin groaned with frustration,. "Let's just get through this thing." He opened the door and headed into the hallway.

The group looked around realizing they were in an old apartment building, one that seemed to be completely abandoned. Looking at the floor, there was green spray paint in the form of arrows showing them where to go. "Let's hope following these helps..." William murmured, deciding following the arrows was their best bet.

The group followed William, looking around nervously for any sudden surprises. They were rather lucky nothing jumped out and attacked them, but they weren't going to get excited just yet. They had more work to do, and many more riddles to solve before they'd be going home again.


	4. 3

**Authors** Note: Hey everyone! I'm glad to see you're still following this story :D I hope you all enjoy this next chapter and stay tuned for future chapters!

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**Chapter 3**

The group was lead to the end of the hall where the next riddle was spray painted on the floor. The Stairwell seemed to be blocked off and boarded up, in front of the elevator stood a tall menacing gate with a small padlock on the outside of it. It seemed the elevator was the goal.

"Is their any way we can break that thing?" William asked.

"We don't have any tools to break it... I guess this means we're on another hunt for yet another key..." Kevin deduced.

They all looked at the riddle painted on the floor. "What is very fragile but more useful when broken?" William read aloud.

They looked around the hallway assuming the answer would be there. "Fuck, I don't know! I just want to leave." Kevin yelled yanking on the lock angrily.

Kate looked down the hallway noticing the doors on the west side of the hallway each had a wooden element symbol attached below the peep hole. "Guys... could their be an answer here?"

Kevin and William looked at the doors with Kate while Eliza looked at the only door not boarded up on the east wall of the hallway. She decided to check that room herself. "All of these doors are padlocked... how do we get in?" Kevin asked confused.

"I'm not sure..." Will looked around for Eliza before walking into the only open room aside from the room they came from. "Davenport, we should really stay together." He told her peaking in.

Eliza stood in a room full of various items hanging from the ceiling. Each item was attached to a cord of some sort, and they looked to be attached to a mechanism of some sort. "I don't like the looks of this." Will stated standing behind her looking up at the ceiling.

"I think I get it." Eliza stated looking up at the objects. "We have to pick the right answer to the riddle to progress... the answer is one of the things hanging." Their was a boot, a piece of glass, a rusted nail, a green plastic Easter egg, a wind chime that hung perfectly still, A pencil, and an array of other office supplies.

"What happens if we pick the wrong item?" Kate asked looking up at the ceiling.

"You'll be in for a shock if you pick wrong!" The Riddler's voice rang out over the intercom.

Kevin sighed with annoyance. "Great... is it lethal?"

"Oh no... none of my traps are too lethal... on THIS floor..." He began to laugh darkly before the intercom shut off again.

"THIS floor?" Kate looked around nervously. "Oh God how many floors are there? Where are we?"

"Most likely an apartment complex... we can make it we just have to try." Eliza told her.

Looking up at the items William went to reach for the rusted nail. "No, wait!" Eliza looked at him. "The answer is egg... It's fragile, but we break them to get the yolk... its got to be." She stated before reaching up cautiously to pull down the green Easter egg.

Popping it open gingerly she noted a small key was inside, attached to the key was a small rope with a note neatly written. "Despite our size we cover mountains, we have six arms but fingers none, and one day we can turn into men." Eliza read out.

William looked at her, "You know what it means?"

Eliza shrugged, "Not really... I have an idea but I don't want to risk being wrong... I'll have to think about our options."

"Come on, lets go test the doors." Kevin said leading them back to the hallway.

"Let me just warn you... the key will break if inserted into the wrong lock... choose wisely." The Riddler stated over the intercom with a snarky tone.

"I don't want to be trapped here forever!" Kate exclaimed nervously.

Will gently gripped her shoulders looking her in the eyes, "Alright, lets take a look at the doors and figure out which door makes most sense with the riddle."

Kate looked up at him and nodded trying to keep her sanity. Will let go of her and they all inspected the doors. The first door at the far end of the hall had a small man emblem on the door, the second door a lightening bolt, the third door a leaf, the fourth door a water drop, the fifth door a snowflake and the final sixth door a flame. "What has six arms, can cover mountain tops and can turn into a man...?" Kevin was very confused.

"Let's start the process of elimination." Kate suggested.

Eliza remained silent. She already had guessed the answer before inspecting the doors, but she wanted a second opinion. "Well a flame has no arms, neither does a leaf, lightening bolt or rain drop." Kevin pointed out.

"A man has fingers and already is a man... so I don't think he counts. So that leaves the snowflake." Will stated before turning to look at Eliza, "Right?"

"Why are you looking at me?" Eliza asked confused, and slightly irritated.

"Let's face it, you've solved them all so far... back on the project team, you were the one who seemed to enjoy riddles." Will looked at her.

"I do enjoy riddles... I've enjoyed them since I was a little girl, but these aren't riddles for fun, they're life or death riddles. I don't want to make the wrong decision and jeopardise us all..." Eliza looked at them all.

"Well it must be the snowflake. It has to be." Kate looked at her a bit more softly.

Eliza nodded, "It is."

Kevin took the key and inserted it into the padlock, with one swift twist it opened without a problem. "Good job team." He said opening the door.

They all walked inside cautiously noting a desk set-up. The chair looked less than welcoming as it was filled with holes and rips, but the desk seemed to hold average stationary equipment. In the center of the desk was a piece of paper with a message written on it. Surrounding it was a small cup of various pens, pencils, erasers and a glue stick, next to it was post-it notes, a stapler, thumb tact's, a few empty binders, a name plate, and a stack of lined paper.

Kate picked up the note slowly and read it aloud, "With pointed fangs I sit in wait, with piercing force I dole out fate, over bloodless victims proclaiming my might, eternally joining in a single bite... What the hell does this mean?"

Eliza froze. "Stapler..." She breathed out completely shocked.

Kate reached for the stapler and examined it. Popping it open to see if any staples were inside, she was greeted with a tiny padlock key. "Good job, Eliza... what's wrong?"

Both guys turned to look at her, "...I know who's doing this... I remember this riddle..." Her soft voice was just barely above a whisper as she recollected what she remembered from a few years ago.

"Who?" Kevin piped in brows furrowed angrily as though he was going to be able to do something with such information.

"Edward Nigma..." She paused again.

"That cocky bastard from the project years ago? What the hell would he go to all this trouble for?" Kevin asked annoyed at the very thought of the scrawny, overconfident man.

Eliza looked at the name plate noticing it was scratched out, but the first letter said 'E.' and the other letters were barely visible, but it all began to add up in her mind. "Oh God, why didn't I see this before? Edward Nigma. E. Nigma... enigma." She looked at the other scientists.

"That can't be his real name." Kate crossed her arms.

"It doesn't matter what his name is... why is he doing this?" Will asked looking around.

Eliza remained quiet, she remembered his last day well. "Look, we have the key, lets move on." Kevin looked at them all.

The group headed into the hallway unlocking the padlock, and moving the gate out of the way of the elevator. The small group noted the elevator doors were open and waiting for them. They felt the ominous tension in the air, but knew they had to press on. They all compiled in and watched as the doors closed without them even pressing a single button on the keypad.


	5. 4

**Authors Note:** Hey everyone! I hope you have a good weekend, I decided I'd better update for you before you lost interest. Get ready for an intense chapter! I'm really excited about it :D R&R if you please!

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**Chapter 4**

When the elevator doors closed the group saw the next riddle written on the doors. "A man is sentenced to death. He must choose his own fate. Behind the first set of doors are raging fires. Behind the second set of doors are a team of assassins. Behind the third set of doors are lions who haven't eaten in three years. Which door should he choose?" Will read aloud.

Everyone looked at each other for a moment. "If we choose wrong... What happens then?" Kate asked nervously.

Laughter emitted from the speaker above. Kevin glared. "He's taunting us, the bastard..."

"Focus! what should we do?" Kate looked at them all nervously.

Eliza stared at the keypad for a moment. If they picked the wrong floor, they didn't know what would happen. "Let's start the process of elimination again..."

Will looked around. "Raging fires sound painful."

"Assassins... well maybe you have a way out but lions... they'd rip you a new one..." Kevin stated.

"So you think door number two is the best bet?" Will looked at Kevin with urgency in his eyes.

"I do. Let's pick it." Kevin reached for the button.

"Wait!" Eliza screamed out. "No, read the last part again... behind the third set of doors are lions who haven't eaten in THREE YEARS. Nothing survives three years without food that I'm aware of. They'd all be dead."

"How are you doing this?" Kate looked at her confused.

"Doing what?" Eliza looked at her confused.

"You know all the answers, why?" Kate looked at her accusingly.

"I don't know them all, I'm just reading the criteria and making logical guesses... besides, I told you, I liked riddles when I was a kid." She reiterated.

"I think you're working with him." Kate crossed her arms glaring.

"Oooh a catfight. Here I thought Catwoman skipped town." The speaker said suddenly.

Eliza looked back at her angrily. "I am NOT the kind of person who would do this! Don't you dare accuse me just because I actually READ the riddles fully before risking my life!" Tears were visible in her eyes, not only was she feeling attacked and vulnerable, but she was angry, and didn't know where to place her emotions.

Kate backed off, but the look of suspicion still remained. "If she's wrong, our lives are on HER hands." With that Kate pressed the button for the third floor.

"Girls, calm down. We can't be fighting at a time like this." Will tried to mediate.

The group tensed as the elevator came to a stop on the third floor. Walking off it carefully Will jumped as he noticed the door close. They noticed a T.V. set up before them the moment they walked out. A green question mark stood out against a black background. "Hello team!" The intercom rang out cheerfully. "I think you're really going to enjoy this floor. I've put a lot of work into it." The Riddler practically sang.

Kevin grumbled listening, "I just wanted to congratulate you first off. This was the correct floor. had you picked number two like you originally wanted," The T.V. screen cut to surveillance footage of the elevator opening on the second floor, a machine gun was bolted to the floor. It began to rattle and fire at the door before it was even entirely open. The group jumped a bit when they heard the sound echo from the lower level, "it would be exactly as Kevin said: you _might_ make it through, but not very likely."

The group watched as the doors closed once again. "Had you picked the first button, well..." The surveillance camera captured the inside of the elevator, the camera pointed down from the ceiling as small vents in the sides ignited with an angry fire.

Eliza covered her mouth and let out a small squeak, realizing that was almost them. "Oh my god!" Kate exclaimed watching as the water was manually turned on. "Welcome to level three of my four story apartment... The fun is just getting started." The intercom cut out again.

"This... this is crazy..." Will sounded defeated, but tried to remain calm.

Eliza seemed stunned, staring at the T.V. screen immobile. "Let's... just find a way out..." Kevin sighed walking around the T.V. set to see the next riddle sprayed on the floor. "I am weightless but you can see me. Put me in a bucket and I'll make it lighter. What am I?"

They looked around curiously for some sort of place to input an answer, but saw none. "Looks like a lot of the doors on this floor are boarded up..." Kate noted.

Will examined the door at the end of the hallway, only one of two not boarded up. It had a padlock on the door. "This must be the way out... but once again we don't have a key for it."

Kevin looked at them anxiously, "Look I just want to get out of here... lets hurry..." He walked into the only room where the door was still unlocked.

"Kevin wait up!" Will called after him following, he pulled Eliza along with him, noting her legs seemed jelly-like.

Inside the room Kevin stood in was bare save for three holes, one in each wall with some sort of an answer to the riddle above each hole. On the North wall it said "Air" above the hole. The east wall said "Nothing" and the west wall said "Hole." Inside of each hole was a key shining slightly in the darkness.

"Well.. any of these could be right." Will looked around before turning to Eliza. "What do you think?"

Eliza shook her head unable to speak. Will looked at her, "It's ok. We can figure this out..." He looked around. "We just have to keep-"

"Air, that sounds about right to me, and if it's wrong we'll just try another key." Kevin stuck his hand in the hole impatiently and grasped the key.

As he pulled the key out of its hole, a sickening chopping sound echoed from it; Kevin fell backwards, one arm half torn off. "Ahhh!" He screamed in searing pain as the wound bled out like a fountain.

Kate and Eliza both began to scream in response, eyes both tearing up as their backs hit the wall behind them. "What the fuck!? Nigma!" Kevin screamed loudly, starting to lose consciousness.

Will rushed to his side, blood squirting all over him. "My arm!" He screamed in pain at Will, eyes rolling back as his body convulsed.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry!" William's lower lip quivered as he watched the man he'd been working with for years finally meet his demise.

The group stared mortified as Kevin slowly began to pass out from rapid blood loss.

"Impatience will get you no where. Lesson learned I hope." The Riddler's voice rang over the intercom.

"You sick bastard! You're trying to kill us all aren't you?!" Kate screamed angrily at the speaker box.

"Oh Kate, what lung capacity you have..." He mocked.

She screamed and punched the speaker box on the wall watching it crack. Will grabbed her arms, holding her back. "Calm down! This isn't helping!" He tried desperately to calm the woman.

"Tsk, tsk. if you keep breaking my things, I'll have to make you pay for them..." The intercom cut out, leaving the room in heavy tenseness.

Will panted after he struggled Kate into an immobile position. "We have two more options... This riddle is hard... any of these answers were logical... we can't risk another death. Eliza, do you have any clue as to what one is right?" Will asked.

Eliza stood up shakily arms crossed as she looked between the two options. Her level of fear made it hard to think, but she tried hard. "It can be seen, but not felt... it makes a bucket lighter... well you can't see nothing... its 'hole.'" She shivered looking at the west wall.

"Are you sure?" Will looked at her knowing it was life or death.

Eliza nodded still shivering. "Yes. I'm positive."

Will looked at the hole in the wall for a moment. "Don't do it Will!" Kate was on her knees covering her head like an atomic bomb was about to go off; tears streamed down her red face.

Will glanced back at her. "It'll be okay Kate." Without another word he reached into the hole carefully. He gripped the key and pulled it safely from the hole without losing a limb.

Eliza looked at the key with relief. "I was right... thank God..."

Will helped Kate stand and headed out of the room. "Come on, Davenport, lets go." He said encouragingly.

"I'm coming..." They left Kevin's body knowing their was nothing they could do for him; he was already dead.

The group headed to the padlocked door. Will shakily unlocked it before opening the door cautiously. In the middle of the floor was a giant hole, a dangling light hanging above it. All the green spray painted arrows pointed to the hole. A mattress rested at the bottom to ensure a safe landing.

"We have to jump down there?" Kate asked, shivering. "I don't want to... it could be a trap."

"Kate... we're almost out, lets just go." Will urged her.

Eliza looked from Kate to Will before carefully stepping forward. "I-I'll make sure its safe..." Without another word she jumped, landing safely on the mattress below. Within minutes the other two joined her on the second floor.


	6. 5

**Authors Note****: Hey everyone, I hope you guys are enjoying it still. I'm pretty excited to be posting another chapter, and as always I enjoy reviews!**

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**Chapter 5**

Will helped the girls off the mattress and looked around the room. "So we're on the second floor... that's good news. Just one more floor to get to." He tried to brighten their spirits.

"I just want out... I want out now..." Kate muttered.

Eliza stared up at the key hanging from the ceiling. It didn't appear to be connected to anything lethal, but something about it didn't feel right. Will reached up and pulled it down without much effort. When nothing happened Eliza relaxed, but something still didn't feel right. "Why would he give us a key just like that? We always have to dig deep for them..."

"Strange... maybe this floor is different..." Will suggested.

"Maybe..." Eliza shrugged holding her arms.

"Do you see any riddles in here?" Will asked Eliza curiously.

"No. I think we'll find one when we get to the hallway." She shook still, unable to stop it from happening.

"Home... I want to go home..." Kate muttered seemingly far away.

"We'll be home soon, Kate. It'll be ok." Will rubbed her shoulder as he walked with her.

Eliza opened the door for them leading them into the hallway. As expected there was a riddle on the floor, Eliza stopped to examine it. To her right was a mental gate held shut by a padlock; on the other side of the metal gate was a computer and a desk, and an exit sign glowing lime green.

A ray of sunlight beamed onto the floor over the riddle. "If you throw me from a window I become a woman who has just lost her husband, but if you add me to door I become something that saves lives." Eliza read it aloud.

Eliza noticed the window leading to the fire escape, for once the window wasn't covered by metal grating. She knew it was a trap, but before she could get out another thought Kate rushed for the window as if she were a moth drawn to a flame.

"Kate no!" Will yelled, reaching out for her.

Yanking open the sliding screen she attempted to lunge her body through the window to get onto the fire escape. A large piece of metal piping was triggered by the sliding of the screen, and down it fell right through Kate's neck severing her head half off. The sounds of gurgling and drowned screams made their stomachs churn a bit more. "Oh God! Kate!" Will called out desperately.

"I see she didn't listen to me before, patience is important." The voice of Edward Nigma spoke out from the intercom above them.

Will and Eliza said nothing watching as Kate's body continued to twitch. "I... I can't watch this any longer..." Will turned and pulled out the key.

Eliza looked to the only other door in the hallway, noting it wasn't locked or boarded up, but rather it had the letter 'N' screwed onto it. Will walked over to the padlock holding it in his hands. Eliza opened the door to the room and looked in curiously, noting it was dark.

"Throw it from 'window' and it becomes 'widow' but add it to door and you have 'donor'... It's 'N'! Will wait!" Eliza yelled out a few moments too late.

Will inserted the key into the padlock. He turned his head to look at her as he turned the key. The moment the key was turned Will stood locked in place, the electrical currants of the door shot through the metal padlock and straight into his hands.

Eliza screamed and watched as he began to fry as he screamed in agony. His nails and hair turned black and his eyes rolled back; he shook violently as the currents shot through him repeatedly until suddenly he stopped moving, and the current ceased. He fell to the floor smoking, a disgusting scent emitting from him.

Eliza slid to the floor hugging her knees desperately. She couldn't stop herself as she began to sob. She was all alone in that death trap, and no one was there to help her. "No... they're..." She sobbed as she endured more mental trauma.

"Dead. Dead as a doornail. Something you will be soon enough." The Riddler's voice said over the intercom. "The correct door has been sealed. It's a bit hard to play the game when the only option left IS the answer. That makes it no fun for me at all if I just let you win."

"Y-You aren't j-just letting me win. I knew it was 'N' before Will even died!" She looked up speaking loud enough for him to hear her.

"Why should I care? Why should I give you a second chance to prove yourself? You all let me walk on the project." He said with malice in his voice.

"I didn't Edward. You remember don't you? You asked for a vote as to whom agreed with Dr. Sparrows idea of tossing you. I never raised my hand, I knew you were the one who did all of the difficult work." She said pointedly. "I liked working along side you, and remember that day? You told me a riddle, and I got it right. I remembered that riddle, you used it earlier... was that riddle meant for me?"

"You could have done more than just disagree." He said simply, disregarding her question.

"How? Should I have walked out with you? I had a sister to take care of, I couldn't abandon her." He remained silent for a moment, contemplating.

"Well... I would rather like to see if you could carry on. It's quite a waste making puzzles when there's no one else to solve them... still you have to prove yourself..." He decided.

"Yes, anything." She spoke to the intercom above.

"I want your reasoning as to why 'N' is the correct answer. You have ten seconds to tell me." He spoke.

"Toss 'n' from window and you have widow, a woman who has lost her husband, but add it to door and you have donor, something that saves lives." She explained without a second to think.

Without another word from the intercom, the room unlocked audibly. She stood up wiping her tears. She entered the room and noted an arrow on the floor pointing to the large hole in the wall big enough to fit a person. She headed through the hole without another thought and looked around the new room noting another arrow led to the hallway door.

Looking around she noted she was on the other side of the gate Will had died attempting to open. To her right was the rest of the long hallway, and a computer sat on a metal desk near the end of the hallway by the gun that pointed towards the elevator. Approaching the computer Eliza sat down before it. On the screen was a riddle.

"I am the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space, and the start of earth. What am I?" Eliza read.

She paused for a moment, stuck. The question was difficult to answer, unlike the others. She also didn't have multiple choice to help her out. She sat for a moment before thinking hard. "Beginning of eternity, start of Earth and end of time and space..." She closed her eyes thinking hard.

"Birth...life...cells...No, it's got to be something else..." She examined the sentence a few more times.

She sat for several minutes staring at the screen. "...Eternity... Earth... Space.. time..." She sat for a while unsure before suddenly it dawned on her.

She looked at the space for typing in the password at the bottom. Eliza sat for another minute before typing her answer. She typed the letter 'E' before hitting enter. The screen went blank, and she sat nervously wondering where to go next.

The screen changed to a webcam, view of Edward Nigma in a dark green bowler hat staring at her with a look of annoyance on his face. "How did you do that? How did you guess all the answers to my riddles?!" Edward shouted at her over the speaker.

"You sound disappointed. Does this mean I get to live?" She asked the monitor shaking a bit.

"Y-" He looked at her for a moment, "You cheated didn't you?"

Eliza shook her head in shock. "No! How could I?" She asked, wide-eyed. "Please, I just want to live..." She put her hands together in a praying motion.

Edward composed himself and sighed, sitting up a bit straighter in his dark green suit. "Nevertheless... you made it out without any of my traps getting you. I have a message that I'd like you to deliver to Dr. Sparrows, Miss Davenport."

"All right." Eliza nodded, willing to agree to anything at this point. "What's the message?"

"Tell him this: He can run, but he can't hide. I'll find him eventually, so if he doesn't man up and come forward with his mistake I WILL enjoy every moment he endures in my next death trap." He paused for a moment with a cruel smirk growing on his face. "If I see he's made no public response, I'll be sending him an invitation. He's got two months..."

"...His mistake, yes of course. You want an apology. I'll tell him." Eliza nodded desperately.

"Go now. There aren't any more traps here. Also, tell the police anything you want... I have nothing to hide, and by the time they arrive here... this place will no longer be standing. Farewell Eliza Davenport." The screen went black.

Eliza heard the door to the right of her click and slowly creak open. She bolted for the door heading down the stairwell until she reached the first floor. She pushed open the emergency exit and ran out of the apartment building. Looking around she realized exactly where she was on Garland Street. She had no time to think, she just ran heading for safety.


	7. 6

**Authors**** Note:** Welcome to the last chapter! Look out for my next parts though, because I'm not done yet :D I hope you have enjoyed, please leave me some reviews and let me know what you think. I love to hear from you! Enjoy!

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**Chapter 6**

"That's the story huh?" Officer Bullock asked about an hour after Eliza Davenport was released from the hospital.

"That's what happened..." She looked down, rubbing her forehead with one shaky hand. "I... I don't know what else to say... can I go home now?"

"Not just yet. I have a few more questions." He told her gently. "I want you to repeat what Mr. Nigma told you. The message to Dr. Sparrows specifically."

"He basically told me if he doesn't publicly apologize for what he's done, he's going to send out an invitation, likely coordinates for the next death trap he's setting up. If Dr. Sparrows doesn't show, he's going to drag him there anyway." Eliza explained for the second time.

"Did he drop any clues while you were there about what he was going to be doing next?" Bullock questioned.

"I don't think so... if he did, I didn't pick up on any." She said a bit impatiently.

"Alright. You also are correct... Edward Nigma cleaned up his crime scene. Our officers searched the area after the fire was put out, and there were no bodies on the location you claim to have been at." Officer Bullock took a drink of his coffee, watching her reaction.

Eliza nodded sadly. "That would have been me... a missing body."

"You're fortunate you made it out alive to tell the tale. Grim or no, it's more information. Now that we have proper confirmation it was Edward Nigma we can begin our search for him." Bullock looked at her with determination.

"I wish you luck catching him. He needs to go." Eliza looked at him, "Am I free to go yet? I really just want to be in my own surroundings..."

Bullock looked up at Gordon, who stood at the back of the room listening to the entire statement. Gordon nodded.

"Yeah miss, you're free to go." Bullock nodded to her finally.

Eliza stood up and nodded. "Thank you sir."

"Did you want an officer posted at your building just in case?" Officer Bullock offered her courteously.

"Oh, that won't be necessary... I think if he wanted to kill me he would have done so before, and quite easily too..." She noted.

"I'm sure you'll never have to deal with him again." Bullock tried to convince her to keep her calm.

"I hope so." She looked at him.

"If you can think of anything else concerning these events give me a call. My numbers on the card I gave you earlier." Officer Bullock informed her. "I mean it, even if it's something small like a particular smell or a scratching on the wall, just let me know, it could be important. You just never know."

Stopping for a moment to think, she remembered the smell of the cold steel he had set up around the already bare apartment building, and the metallic smell of blood. She didn't want to remember anything more than she had to for the time being. She wanted to rest instead. She owed it to herself.

Eliza steadied herself, forcing the shakes to quell. "I got it. I won't hesitate to call if anything comes to mind, Officer Bullock. Thank you for all the help. I really hope you catch him before anything happens to my boss." Without another word she nodded once more and left the room, heading to her apartment.

Commissioner Gordon watched her go. Bullock shook his head, "Unbelievable that someone who set up crazy death traps like that... this is turning into some horror movie bullshit." The younger officer shook his head. "I suspect this guy's insane or at least mentally ill."

"He's still out there, that's the worst part. I feel like we should have put that girl in protective custody, but I can't be for certain." Commissioner Gordon stated firmly.

"If he let her go maybe he won't come looking for her again." Bullock suggested trying to be optimistic.

"Maybe... we'll need to get all our men out looking for him. After what the Joker put Gotham through, we can't let this traumatize our city further. I want someone watching Dr. Nathan Sparrows, I don't want any more people dying in this manner." The Commissioner said sternly.

"We're on it. Dr. Sparrows already got himself signed up with a personal security guard." Bullock informed him calmly.

"He didn't want to be put into protective custody while Nigma's on the loose?" Commissioner Gordon asked suspiciously.

"No, he said he's working on a lot of projects that are 'highly important in nature,' and he doesn't want to abandon his work over this guy." Officer Bullock shrugged.

"Scientists... they have an interesting set of priorities, don't they?" Gordon rolled his eyes as Bullock chuckled a bit.

"I think it'll be okay. We just have to find this lunatic. At least we know his target." Bullock pointed out.

"Let's hope we find him before too late... God knows what this madman might get into while we're looking for him." Without another word Commissioner Gordon headed into his office.

Dr. Sparrows sat in his office, looking over the files on his latest proposal. Monday came quickly for him, and with his security officer standing outside his door at all times he felt fairly safe.

A knock at the door made him look up curiously. "Come in!" He said without much concern in his tone.

Walking in, Eliza sat down in one of the chairs before his desk. Her dark rimmed glasses glimmered a bit in the fluorescent light. "You wanted to see me, sir?" Her timid voice seemed quieter after the events of the weekend.

"I wanted to make a suggestion to you. I'm aware you've been through a lot this past week. This is your first day back since the kidnapping." He looked to her, clasping his hands on the table.

Eliza looked down, pushing up her glasses a bit as she thought about her trauma. "Yes... it's been hard. What is your suggestion?"

"Seeing as the other members of our team are tragically deceased, I don't feel we should continue with the neurology study. I feel it might be best to close the project temporarily in honor of our fallen comrades." He said softly.

Eliza looked up at him again and nodded. "Yes. That might be best... I suppose this would give me time to rest."

The expression on Dr. Sparrows' face shifted slightly. "I had an idea for you, if you'd care to hear."

Eliza looked at him for a moment, "Well of course, what is it?"

Dr. Sparrows smiled gently. "I've been working on a project more recently with Dr. Helm. It's called the 'Siren Project.' I've been doing this more secretly, but the director seems to like the idea I've come up with."

Eliza sat up a bit more. "You want me to help you with this?"

"I'd really like that. You're a highly intelligent individual, and it would be a pleasure working with you on this new project. If you'd like I can tell you more about it." He looked her in the eyes.

Eliza nodded encouraging him to continue. "My project is based on new weaponry that could be used without severely harming another person, and wouldn't have the ability to kill."

"That sounds fascinating." She leaned in a bit more, listening.

Dr. Sparrows smiled at her interest. "If we can get this weapon built, we could save lives without having to take so many. Imagine, police no longer having to use a gun. It would be wonderful."

Eliza nodded. "I'd like to do this. When do I start?" She smiled softly for the first time since her Riddler ordeal.

Dr. Sparrows leaned back contentedly. "Tomorrow. Go home and get some rest, all right?"

Eliza leaned in and shook his hand. "Thank you sir, I'll see you tomorrow."

Dr. Sparrows watched her leave and picked up the phone quickly calling Dr. Helm. "...Yes, this is Nathan... I talked to her this morning, and she agreed." He listened for a moment before smiling darkly.

"Yes, I think she'll make the perfect test subject for the final project... All right, I'll see you tomorrow, Thomas." He hung up looking down at his folder files on the 'Siren Project,' knowing he had a lot of work to do.


End file.
